An Ancient Menace
by BobWhite
Summary: Ronon is separated from the team during a firefight and rescued by an ancient race and subsequently drawn into an ancient war! Full summary inside. Pls R&R 2 find out more.
1. Firefight

**Full Summary:**

Ronon is separated from the rest of the team during a firefight with an unknown enemy. What happens when a ship appears out of nowhere and picks Ronon up? Are these people the last of a race known only as The Magics? And who have they been fighting all this time?

**Firefight:**

**The Gate:**

The team had just walked through the gate and was waiting for McKay to look over some interesting data. He had collected some data almost immediately after stepping through the gate. Ronon looked annoyed that they weren't doing anything except standing around. Teyla and Colonel Sheppard were talking in low voices when McKay uttered the word 'huh'.

"What's wrong McKay? We need to get going and look around. We don't want to be stuck here all day?" _Colonel Sheppard said._

"Well, I just picked up some kind of strange energy reading and then it was gone again. Maybe if we move away from the gate, the energy reading will be back and I can distinguish where it is coming from."

"Energy, as in something we could possibly use back on Atlantis?" _Teyla asked._

"Well once I look at it, if it isn't harmful, then yes we could possibly harness it for energy back on Atlantis."

"Can we go now, like Sheppard said, don't want to be stuck here all day." _Ronon chided._

"Yeah I know, I know. Lead the way big guy."

"Hmph."

Ronon took his gun out and moved off with Teyla, Rodney and Sheppard behind him. They moved from the gate and into the surrounding woods. The Ancient Database had said that there had once been people living on this planet, though it hadn't gone into much detail about the race. Though the Database had said that before attacking Atlantis during the war, the Wraith had attacked this planet first. The team was on the planet to understand why the wraith were so fearful of this race and to learn if the race still existed. If the race still existed, then they could get an insight into why the wraith had tried to destroy them. It wasn't long before they came upon an abandoned village.

**Ambush:**

"It doesn't look like anyone has lived here in quite some time." _Teyla said._

"They could have abandoned the village and moved their village somewhere else. Why would you stay in a village the wraith know about?" _Rodney said._

"Rodney, that's not what we are saying. Think about it would you. These people must have been powerful enough to disserve the wrath of the wraith."_ Ronon said._

"He's got a point McKay. Come on, let's get moving. This place is starting to give me the creeps." _Colonel Sheppard stated._

"Now that you say that, I feel like I'm being watched from every angle, like someone is watching us and we can't see them." _McKay said._

"That's it, we're out of here. Head back to the gate, now!" _Colonel Sheppard yelled as bullets started raining down on the four. They headed for the gate, which meant they wouldn't be very well protected as there was no safe place to hide once they left the woods and ran for the gate, which was centered in an open field._

"Who the hell is firing at us?" _Teyla yelled._

"Beats me, but I'm not going to stand around to find out,"_ Colonel Sheppard paused and then yelled_, "Dial the gate McKay!"

"Where's Ronon?" _McKay yelled back as he dialed the gate. Teyla and Colonel Sheppard looked around them, firing back at those that were shooting at them but there was no sign of Ronon anywhere. They couldn't wait for him to show up. Those that had been shooting had moved into the clearing and were closing in fast. They would have to come back for him later._

"Through the gate now; we'll come back for him later, when we're sure these people are gone!"_ Colonel Sheppard said pushing McKay and Teyla in front of him through the gate. Once through he told the Control Room to deactivate the gate. This was going to be one long briefing after they made sure they hadn't been hit by any of the bullets._

**Separated:**

Ronon was too busy firing at whoever was firing at him to realize that Sheppard and the others had already headed back to the gate. He knew that he wouldn't be able to make it to the gate now anyways, his path was blocked. Whoever these people were, they had either abandoned after the culling 10,000 years ago or had been completely wiped out. Whoever was firing didn't seem that friendly.

Ronon ducked into some foliage and made a beeline the other way, hoping to make it to the open field before the gate shut down. He had heard it activate, now all he had to do was make it to the clearing and through the gate or he wasn't going to be making it through the night. As he reached the clearing, he knew that there was no way he was going to get to the gate. Those that had been firing had surrounded the gate, which had shut down without him. He ducked down so that he wasn't seen, but knew that someone was watching him from behind.

**Rescue:**

Ronon looked around, behind him but couldn't see anybody. He could sense that he was being watched but couldn't see anybody watching him. He looked back towards the gate and realizing that he had been spotted figured it was better to go down fighting instead of waiting to die. He grabbed his gun, stood up and started firing at everything that ran at him. When he couldn't shoot anymore, he put his gun away and grabbed his swords. He swung them around, hitting one then another until he was standing in the middle of a bunch of dead enemies.

He never heard the gun go off but he sure did feel the bullet rip through his shoulder. He hit his knees for a few minutes before getting up and going after the others that were running at him. He hadn't made it two steps before what sounded like a bomb went off near the gate. The gate was unaffected but the enemies that had been attacking Ronon stopped. Three shuttles became visible and by the look on Ronon's face, even the enemy knew he hadn't been expecting them. The shock was gone as a shuttle appeared right in front of Ronon, the back open and a woman holding out her arm for him to grab.

Those that he had been fighting made to grab him first but he moved before they could lay a hand on him. He grabbed the woman's hand and she pulled him inside. A few more well placed shots had the enemy running for the woods. The shuttle doors closed and Ronon sat on one of the seats. The shuttles headed into space and away from the carnage on the planet.

Who are these people that have rescued Ronon? And who or what was attacking Ronon and the team in the first place?


	2. The Last of Their Race

**The Last of Their Race:**

**The Ship:**

The shuttles docked in the shuttle bay. Ronon was offered a lean on the woman's shoulder as she moved him out of the shuttle and into the ship. He gazed around as he was walked to what looked like an Infirmary. He let himself be led to a bed and pushed onto it. The woman smiled before moving towards someone that looked like a doctor. Ronon distinctly remembered getting shot, so maybe they were going to remove the bullet and get him patched up. The woman and the doctor talked in low tones before the woman came back, smiling of course.

"I am Captain Mariala Skystar. And this is the Starburnner. We saw that you were having trouble and came to help. When you were wounded, we knew you wouldn't last much longer so we intervened. They are scared of us, but we knew you would appreciate the help."

"I am Ronon Dex. My team and I were exploring the planet after learning that a once powerful race had lived there thousands of years ago."

"So you are from the Pegasus Galaxy then?"

"Yes, another of my team members is as well, the rest of my team are from another Galaxy."

"Would that be the Milky Way by any chance?"

"How'd you know?"

"Rumors have been spreading across the stars of the humans that ventured through the Stargate and found the lost city of Atlantis. Rumors also said that the city was destroyed by wraith and then there was the rumor that said that the city wasn't destroyed but only made to look like it had been destroyed so that the wraith would stop their assault."

"So you know of the wraith?"

"Yes, but we will talk of that later. This is Dr. Jostin Skystar. He is my brother. He will take the bullet out of you. He will take good care of you. I will return later with some food. Your weapons will remain by your side. I have instructed him not to touch them."

"Thank you Captain Skystar."

"You can call me Mariala. Only my crew calls me Captain."

"Alright, thank you Mariala."

Mariala left and Ronon lay down to let the doctor take the bullet out of his shoulder. He was given a light sedative to relax him for the procedure, which did wonders on his tired body. Ronon woke up three hours later to see Mariala sitting on another bed talking to the doctor. He moved a little which got her attention. She walked over.

**Trust Thy Friend:**

"It is good to see you awake. Jostin was worried when you didn't wake up after the sedative wore off but I assured him that you were probably tired from fighting. If you're up for it, I've brought some food and a little light reading. You will be given a guest quarters once you are out of the Infirmary. But for now, if you like, we can talk."

"Talking sounds good. I'm not much into reading."

"I see, well I figured you wouldn't mind reading this as it has to do with my people's history. You see, we are the Race you were talking about before Jostin took the bullet out of you. We used to live on the planet. But when the wraith attacked and then the _Menace_ showed up, we knew that we could not stay on the planet anymore. We built ships, those that were left of us anyways, and took to the stars, to stay one step ahead of those that wished us dead. We have disabled the gate and put a force-field around it so that no one can come through."

"But what about my team members? The people I work and live with will be worried about me."

"We will take you home. We have something we need to talk about with the people of Atlantis and it must be decided immediately."

"I see. So you are probably wondering about my story."

"A little yes. I have never seen a man like you before."

"Your brother won't be furious that you are talking so personal about yourself in front of me?"

"Oh, Jostin can be a pain sometimes, but we are all that is left of our family. Sure he has a family of his own, but I haven't settled down yet."

"Well, as you know, I am Ronon Dex. I was a Specialist on my home world of Sateda before it was destroyed by the wraith. The wraith culled all of my people. Instead of eating me like they did the rest of my people, they turned me into a Runner. If it hadn't been for the Atlantis Expedition, I'd probably still be running."

"What is a Runner?"

"Simplest way to explain it is that I was the mouse and the wraith was the cat."

"I am sorry to hear about your people and about the life you have had to live. But you are happy now?"

"Yes, well as happy as one can be. We are in the process of fighting a war against the wraith and trying to find suitable trading partners."

"We are always looking for people to trade with, if your people do not mind."

"You'll have to ask them. So, tell me about this _Menace_ you spoke of before."

**Know Thy Enemy:**

"We do not know where it came from but we believe that it was an experiment that the wraith had with them when they attacked us. We believe the monster was left on the planet to root out all those that were hiding but when we built the ships after the wraith left, we figured that it would eventually die. There was never really any animals that lived on our home world so it couldn't eat them. We figured it would die off sooner or later but it has been thousands of years and it is still around. In fact, it has been able to multiply in the recent years. I guess it sensed you and your team in one of our abandoned villages and figured it was us returning for something we had forgotten and decided to attack. We know for a fact that there is one main leader and that the others are like mini versions of itself. We have never been able to catch one so we do not know how they are able to multiply or anything like that."

"I see, well, what would you do if you were able to catch one of these things?"

"We would study it. We have a cell waiting for it so that it will be contained. It was built especially for one of them and is too small for it to multiply. If we were able to catch one of them, then we would definitely know how to beat it once and for all."

"So, say I was able to help you catch one by being the bait? Would you be able to catch it?"

"Not now if that is what you were suggesting. They now that we are here. It would be better if we came back at a better time. That way they won't know that we are coming and we can surprise them. Your team and friends will be worried about you and we must get to Atlantis before they try to send search parties through the gate and are unable to connect. Hopefully they will realize that the gate has been disabled."

"How did you disable to gate from in space? According to one of my team members, the only way to disable a gate is to blow it up, bury it or disable it remotely as in on the ground."

"We have a scientist who was able to configure an algorithm for disabling the gate from space so we would not have to go to surface."

"Well isn't that convenient."

"Are you ready to get out of the Infirmary?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright, just lean on me, you may still be a little groggy from the sedative or just from the fight in general."

"I bounce back quickly," _Ronon stated as he stood up, then set back down as a wave of dizziness hit him_, "but I wouldn't mind a lean on your shoulder. How are you able to handle my height and weight?"

"Most of my men tend to get drunk on planets we trade with and it is always me bringing them back up sober and ending up helping them into their quarters."

"If I were you, I would learn how to discipline them once they sobered up."

"I already have. Come on, up you get."

Ronon let Mariala help him up and to the guest quarters he would be staying in. She stayed a few more hours before heading back to the bridge with instructions for him to get some rest, that she would come get him before they reached the quadrants that Ronon had given her as to where Atlantis was located.


End file.
